After crossing the final node, Selia’s pace became visibly lighter.
If one doesn’t take the vertical side paths, there are a total of four nodes on the first floor.
Among them, the last node is guaranteed to be a Strange Merchant.
Selia had already passed the Moss Hand, Schicksal’s Words, and Ursus nodes on this floor.
Beyond that was the Strange Merchant for supplies; before reaching the second floor, one could say it was completely safe.
Soon, after crossing the ice lake that ran through the entire first floor, a small tent that seemed out of place with the surrounding environment appeared on the ice field.
“Neither ally nor enemy; some people like to stand in the middle.” Selia read the words on the wooden sign: “It seems this is Kannnot’s shop.”
“Indeed, my friend!”
At this moment, a man wearing a strange iron bucket head and a black coat crawled out of the small tent.
“Welcome to Kannnot’s shop!”
“System, are you controlling this guy?” Selia asked in a low voice.
[Of course not.
How could I possibly act out this feeling?]
The system’s energetic voice carried a hint of dissatisfaction.
[This guy is a program simulated by the reinforcement system itself.
Its memory resets with every trial.
Don’t worry, just treat it like an NPC.]
“I see.
Then I won’t have any psychological burden when I rob the shop later.” Selia nodded solemnly: “I was worried it would be hard to make a move on an acquaintance.”
“Hey, hey, miss, it’s not good to discuss how to rob my shop right in front of me.
At least try to avoid me when you talk about it.” A helpless, deep male voice came from under the tin can.
“Hehehe, that’s because I don’t have the strength right now.
If I really were to rob you, I definitely wouldn’t say it to your face.” Selia tilted her head and stuck out her tongue, revealing a cute, mischievous smile.
“Alright, alright, Kannnot, come and show me if you have any good things here.”
Selia narrowed her eyes and made a gesture with her right hand, pinching her index finger and thumb together.
“And what good things would the miss like?” Kannnot asked.
“Do you have any Foldartal?” Selia leaned in mysteriously: “I want one that can skip levels.”
“I actually do, but it depends on your luck.” Kannnot opened the tent, revealing the merchandise counter inside.
[Support Blast Pile], [Medic Recruitment Voucher], [Vision Invitation], [Silvermane Guards – Classic Training], [Green Vegetable Canned Food], [Topographic Map – Beta], [Vanilla Sarsaparilla Soda], [Heavy Music Anthology]
“It seems the miss’s luck isn’t very good.” Kannnot’s voice carried no inflection: “However, there is one more chance.
Or, is there something here that the miss wants?”
“System, I have a question.” Selia stared intently at the Green Vegetable Canned Food among the items: “Does my shooting count as a skill or a basic attack?”
[Without a doubt, it’s a basic attack.
Even if you struggle quite a bit when firing.]
The system saw through Selia’s thoughts at a glance.
[You don’t actually think your shooting can count as a Power Strike type skill, do you?]
“What a pity.
If it actually counted, combined with the Blast Pile, I might have had some combat power.” Selia shook her head regretfully: “Refresh it, Kannnot.”
“Alrighty.” Kannnot closed the tent and pulled it open again; the goods on the counter had been replaced by another batch.
[Support Landmine Group], [Caster Recruitment Voucher], [Rainbow Urn], [Frozen Shell], [Blunt Claw – Classic Training], [Healer – Breakthrough], [Triumphant Horn]
And, [Foldartal – Propagation].
“Yay!” Selia jumped up excitedly: “As expected, luck is still on my side!”
“It seems this miss has found the item she wanted.” Kannnot smiled: “Then, that will be 8 originium shards.”
Selia opened her backpack and counted; there were eighteen originium shards in total.
Then she handed them all to Kannnot: “Here, just save the remaining originium shards.”
“Uh, wait, System, you should have removed that setting about the investment system malfunctioning, right?”
[Don’t worry, Host.
I definitely removed something that affects the game experience like that.]
“That’s good.
If it malfunctioned, I’d have to hit the road with unspent money; what a waste that would be.”
“This miss’s mindset…
is truly broad-minded.” Kannnot felt cold sweat dripping down as he listened, and he quickly accepted the originium shards and handed the [Foldartal – Propagation] to Selia.
“Since the transaction is complete, I won’t keep you any longer.
I wish the miss a smooth journey; perhaps we will have a chance to meet again.”
Leaving these words behind, Kannnot waved his sleeve.
The next second, he and his small shop disappeared from the academy, leaving not a trace behind.
With Kannnot’s disappearance, the map on the detector was updated.
Appearing at the same time was the foresight hint for the second floor.
[After clearing this floor, you will obtain Foldartal: Tree Crown.]
“Hmm, does this mean I should move forward?”
Selia zoomed in on the map, but only a lush green could be seen on the map.
“Silent Woodland?
However, the first node ahead is still an Encounter.” Selia studied the map: “The second node seems to be a combat stage, the third node…
the map doesn’t seem to be visible, but there is no danger warning for a combat node, so there shouldn’t be any big problems, right?”
[It’s fine.
To be safe, Host, you can just use the Foldartal when the time comes.]
“Okay, let me see…
The branch on the left has two forks after the combat node.
I can try choosing this one.
If I can encounter ‘High Spirits’ then, it would be great; I could stably pass a node directly.”
“Phew, then let’s keep going.”
Shouldering her backpack, which was quite a bit lighter due to the lack of originium shards, Selia once again embarked on her journey across the snowfield.
This Encounter seemed to be going very smoothly.
There was no suddenly peeling bark, nor were there enemies in a cave.
Selia walked with trepidation for over ten minutes, yet in the dense forest, there was only the rustling of leaves and the low grunts of horn beasts; other than that, nothing seemed to happen.
“No, this is definitely not right.” After wandering around for over ten minutes, Selia stopped her footsteps: “According to previous experience, if I keep walking, I should be beyond the scope of this node by now.
Has the event not triggered yet?”
[Uh, could it be that you, Host, took the wrong path?]
“How is that possible?
This is a one-way street!” Selia argued verbally, but her hands honestly opened the detector.
“Let me see…”
“Hmm?
No, why is the detector frozen?”
[Ah?
That shouldn’t be.
Can this thing even malfunction?]
The system’s voice was even more surprised than Selia’s.
“I remember that at the beginning, it seemed like I pressed this button to turn it on.
If I long-press it, I should be able to shut it down and restart it.”
Selia found a button on the back of the detector.
After long-pressing it for a while, the words “Restarting” indeed appeared on the detector’s screen.